One of the most useful and important cooking methods in the world is grilling. Different places and cultures have their unique ways of roasting food over fire, one of our favorites is the braai from South Africa. A braai is a large grill made of brick or concrete and constructed like a fire place usually outside. It has a chimney and a metal cover which is brought down and acts as a table to work on while you’re grilling. The most interesting and distinct part of the braai is the method in which you light the wood fire. There is a shelf on the side where you stack wood and light a huge fire with a grate at the bottom. When the wood burns long enough the coals start to fall through the grate. You then slide them over and throw your meat on.
You can keep the fire burning on the right and keep a steady flow of coals falling through the grate while your meat and vegetables roast on the left. Once there is a solid layer of coals under the grill itself, you can add some charcoal to keep it going or just use the wood coals. We barbecue all the time and respect and love new ways of grilling. Much of our time in South Africa was spent drinking wine and braaing meat.
This is the shelf you put the wood in and start the fire. You can see the grate at the bottom where the coals fall through.
This is an old braai company logo, which we found on many of our friends braai’s.
Here is a feast getting ready to go on the braai and a few bottles of Idle Cellars we drank with it. The 08 Sangiovese and the 09 Merlot. These photos are from a special house we rent from time to time called Fireflies in Natures Valley South Africa.
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